Medical, dental, pharmaceutical, veterinary or mortuary instruments and devices that are exposed to blood or other body fluids require thorough cleaning and microbial deactivation between each use. Washer decontamination systems are now widely used to clean and deactivate instruments and devices. Washer decontamination systems typically operate by exposing the medical devices and/or instruments to a washing solution. After exposure to the washing solution, a rinsing solution, typically water, is sprayed over the medical devices and/or instruments to remove the washing solution. The medical devices and/or instruments are typically then dried using heated dry air.
Users of the medical devices and/or instruments typically desire that a cleaning process be as short as possible. The shorter the duration of the cleaning process, the quicker the devices can be returned to the user for use in an operation or procedure. The drying phase represents a significant portion of a cleaning process. Thus, a reduction in the duration of the drying phase will have a significant impact on the total duration of the cleaning process. The time required to dry devices in a washing chamber is influenced by many factors, including the number and placement of devices in the chamber, the amount of air flowing in the chamber, the pattern of the air flowing through chamber and the temperature of the air circulated over the devices in the chamber.
The present invention provides a washer having an improved system and method for drying articles in a washer.